Against The Odds: How This Orphan From Sierra Leone Became A Famous Ballerina

June 9th, 2012 - By Drenna Armstrong
"MichaelaDeprince"

teenvogue.com

Michaela Deprince does not look like the “typical” 17 year old ballet dancer. At 5’4″, she is shorter and more muscular than most ballet dancers. She is also from Sierra Leone and all three of these are noted “problems” (with the admitted race and body type issues in ballet) for someone who just wants to dance. But that isn’t stopping her at all.

In the latest issue of Teen Vogue, Michaela tells the story of how she was adopted from her home country after her parents were savagely killed in a war and she was placed in an “if you make it out, you’re lucky” foster home.  Her parents came to adopt one little girl (her sister – not by blood – Mia) and couldn’t bear the thought that Michaela would “never find a home” so they adopted her too.  Her ballet dreams stem from seeing a woman on the cover of a magazine in a ballerina costume and decided to always keep that picture with her. After moving to the United States with her adopted parents, Michaela showed them the picture and they decided to enroll her in a school in Philadelphia. Although the family eventually moved, 13 year old Michaela stayed in Philadelphia to dance at the school full-time and went to an online high school.

That is definitely a dramatic route for such a young lady but her parents support her and this dream.  She has decided not to go to college right now, opting to see how far her talents can take her.  Right now, Michaela is a member of the American Ballet Theater’s esteemed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City.  There’s not much time for big fun because as Michaela says, all she has time for is class and practice.

Michaela Deprince is an amazing talent and can serve a s great role model for girls who want to dance but might be afraid because they don’t fit the “normal” look and type of a dance.

Check out the story here in its entirety as well as the beautiful pictures.

 

 

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5G3UV47TG33STBZQ5KY7GDTMHQ Astro

    Title misleading. She is not yet a famous Ballerina, in fact she is just going to school. She is pretty and wish her the best. Ballet is not about being muscular, but feminine,graceful, and light enough for the men to lift you. Also I think they tend to prefer similar skintone because it looks better (when they dance insync/group.)

    • Y Lord

      what an idiot. spoken like a true – don’t even know you’re racist – person. i bet you think no blacks (except maybe for the part of othello) should ever be on stage for a shakespeare play? get with the real world

  • IllyPhilly

    I LOVE it! I wish her all the best!! Do it lady!!

  • http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Peaches%20The%20Writer PeachesTheWriter

    Congrats! Don’t give up on someone because of their circumstances. Most of the time what’s inside a person is greater than anything thrown their way.

  • IDLOVE2

    After reading the article on Bossip, I knew without a doubt that I had to see the movie First Position. So the next day, I drove 100 miles round trip (in AZ metro area everything is far), nixed the popcorn, took my seat and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The theatre room was filled with little ballerinettes. They are so cute.
    As a young girl, my parents made me take ballet lessons (hated it). I was a tall, skinny girl with big feet and I was a bit clumsy. Ballet helped me tremendously.
    This docu-movie is a WORTH see. The music is wonderful. The dancing is awe inspiring. The dancers exude determination, drive, self-discipline, self-confidence, poise, and respect for all things and everyone. This one will be a part of my dvd collection.

  • FromUR2UB

    That’s an impressive leap. You KNOW dancers have to train from childhood to become that limber. She’s too short and muscular for what? If she can perform the positions gracefully, what does it matter? Her body build will probably prove an advantage to her, giving her a strength and power that has never been seen…like Venus and Serena Williams.

    • Tesa

      I agree she with you too many assumptions based on how they are built. My daughter dances competitively and from her company team she is the only one that us built like the stereotype. The other girls are much more muscular and stocky than her, but just as talented and flexible. It works for them, now they do get slighted in the costume choices because of their body type but they are talented!

      • FromUR2UB

        Yeah, the only obstacle I can see is that since muscle mass is dense, she might be a little heavier to lift. They’ll just need some physically strong male dancers. She looks equally sleek in the photo with the other members…like a dancer, rather than a gymnast.

  • http://twitter.com/KanuMarie Marie Kanu

    beautiful story

  • http://twitter.com/KanuMarie Marie Kanu

    Yes, Salone represent!

  • LoreeC

    Beautiful young lady. I wish her nothing but the best!

  • Zania

    Such a beautiful touching story, to come from such a devastating beginning to such an admirable position is amazing. Anything is possible x